Frondier approached Baal, who showed no signs of waking up.
Elysia shrieked in surprise as Frondier, without hesitation, kicked Baal.
Even if he was unconscious, kicking a devil... Moreover, from what she'd heard, this devil was supposed to be incredibly powerful...?
Frondier grabbed Baal's hair and lifted his head. However, Baal still showed no signs of regaining consciousness.
'For him to not wake up even after this, it's not just unconsciousness.'
He lifted Baal's eyelids and checked his pupils. There was no reaction.
'Even though I didn't fully charge my aura, that wasn't a light kick.'
He wouldn't wake up even after taking a hit of that magnitude.
In this state, it was impossible to predict how long it would take for Baal to wake up on his own. A day, two days, or even a week could pass.
'Is this the influence of Pandemonium?'
Pandemonium, where Frondier first witnessed the power of his own devil.
However, Frondier didn't really understand what Pandemonium was. Chairman Arald of Hitchcock had only provided a rough explanation and moved on.
Therefore, he didn't know what would happen if he won or lost, or what the difference was between simply hitting with the devil's power and using Pandemonium.
He had done it purely out of curiosity about Baal's power, his own power, and Pandemonium itself. Simply put, his curiosity had led Baal to this state.
'If this isn't just unconsciousness but the influence of my power, it seems like I should be able to wake him up.'
If Baal was still trapped within Frondier's power, Frondier should be able to wake him up. No, rather, there might be no one else who could.
'Should I try using the devil's power again? No, if he dies...'
Whether Baal lived or died didn't matter much to Frondier, but Baal still held value as a hostage.
Moreover, if he died like that, Frondier would still be clueless about how to wake up opponents who had been subjected to Pandemonium.
It felt like a third-rate play to be worried about whether the King of Hell, Baal, would die or not, but he really had to worry about it.
A low groan reached his ears. Frondier thought Baal had woken up for a moment, but it wasn't him.
The source of the voice was Marco.
'...Right. He wasn't directly hit by Pandemonium.'
Marco and the devils scattered around here were not Frondier's intended targets.
They were caught in the influence of Pandemonium.
So unlike Baal, Marco was simply unconscious.
"That works out well."
Frondier put Baal down and stood up.
Marco would know how to deal with this situation. Feeling optimistic at the sight of a possible solution, Frondier walked towards Marco with a faint smile.
Elysia, watching the scene from the side, turned pale, but it didn't catch Frondier's attention.
However, even if it didn't catch his attention, Frondier still had something to do for Elysia.
A massive building rose at the spot where Frondier stretched out his hand.
Elysia was speechless at the sudden appearance of the enormous building.
"Go inside. You must be uneasy with Marco around."
"...Is this building safe?"
"It's safe for those I permit."
Does that mean it's safe?
And what does he mean by 'those I permit'?
Elysia wanted to raise several objections to Frondier's words, but she didn't have the time.
From Elysia's perspective, the terrifying devil was slowly waking up.
"Th-then, excuse me..."
Elysia cautiously stepped into the workshop, and the door closed behind her.
Immediately after, Marco stirred, as if trying to regain consciousness.
He still couldn't grasp the situation.
It was only natural, as he hadn't expected to lose consciousness.
Frondier approached, raising his hand.
"Gasp!" Marco instinctively gasped.
Seeing Frondier's expression and the current situation, Marco finally realized that he had fainted.
Furthermore, the memory of the Pandemonium between Frondier and Baal came flooding back.
Marco screamed, scrambled to his feet, and retreated. It was a complete departure from his previous demeanor.
Frondier tilted his head, observing him. Devils affected by the devil's power didn't become this terrified even after regaining consciousness. They simply submitted to him.
It seemed Pandemonium was indeed somewhat different from the devil's power. Marco didn't seem inclined to submit to Frondier either.
'Well, it would be troublesome if he submitted now.'
Currently, Marco was Satan's subordinate.
He didn't know the details, but if this second-in-command were to submit to Frondier, Satan would become even more of a nuisance.
He would have to fight Satan eventually, but not right now. More importantly, Frondier currently had no way to meet Satan.
Even though the human side had gained an overwhelming advantage in this battle against the devils, the reality was that they hadn't even touched a finger on Satan.
Anyway, that wasn't what he needed to ask Marco right now.
"There's no need to run. I have no intention of fighting."
Frondier said as he approached Marco.
However, Marco, seemingly not believing his words at all, retreated as Frondier advanced, and then spread his wings, attempting to escape by flight.
Frondier stopped there. He pointed his thumb towards Baal.
"How do I wake him up?"
Marco followed Frondier's finger and widened his eyes upon seeing Baal.
A moment later, he nodded as if he understood something. He folded his wings again and his expression returned to calmness.
No, rather than calmness, it was as if he had resigned himself to something.
"The 72 Devils' number one has been defeated."